Don't Tell Me You Still Have Land Line Phone Service!
Are you still paying for long distance service?
Do you have to budget your family's minutes?
Did you have to pay a BIG deposit for phone service when you moved?
Are you ready for something a little different? Free long distance? Unlimited Calls? No Deposit?
Can you say Phone.com?
Do you have to budget your family's minutes?
Did you have to pay a BIG deposit for phone service when you moved?
Are you ready for something a little different? Free long distance? Unlimited Calls? No Deposit?
Can you say Phone.com?
My Experience
The Joys of Moving!
After 10 years living off the grid and having only a cell phone, my husband Mark and I moved to town. I was having fantasies of washers & dryers, refrigerators, central heat & air, high speed internet, lots of hot water AND A Land Line Phone! Whoopee! Yay!
After it was all said and done, we had tons of moving expenses, and over $500 in deposits alone. And, that was BEFORE we had the phone installed!
We decided to have the internet installed first, so that I could get back to work, as we still had our cell phones. Once the internet came on board, I began researching phone over IP.
And here is what I found.
After it was all said and done, we had tons of moving expenses, and over $500 in deposits alone. And, that was BEFORE we had the phone installed!
We decided to have the internet installed first, so that I could get back to work, as we still had our cell phones. Once the internet came on board, I began researching phone over IP.
And here is what I found.
Exploring the Options
There are a Few to Choose From, And More Appearing All of the Time!
Below are the services that I explored before arriving at my selection. Before making a selection, I considered the following factors:* Ease of installation
* Monthly minutes allowed
* Features such as:
voice mail
call forwarding
call waiting
three-way calling
price
sound quality
scalability
* Did I mention price???
Phone.com
Pros and Cons
Pros: Phone.com's price is attractive, starting at under $10.00 US per month. Lots of features (they had all of the features that I was looking for on my list). Unlimited minutes available for under $20.00 US per month. No special phone required. Great customer service, with people who speak my native tongue, if you know what I mean? Good sound quality. Free call forwarding and voicemail, etc.
Cons: You have to wait a few days for activation and to receive your router. If your computer or internet service goes down, so does your phone.
Cons: You have to wait a few days for activation and to receive your router. If your computer or internet service goes down, so does your phone.
Via Talk
Pros and Cons
Pros: Another broadband phone service is ViaTalk. The vt_500 plan is their value offering, which is just $9.95 per month. Step up to vt_unlimited, for just $15.95 per month, to enjoy unlimited calling to anywhere in the US and Canada. They have really low International rates, with 3 - 5 cent per minute charges for many common countries. With Via Talk plans e911, voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding, call waiting, *69 call return and other features are included. (prices may change without notice)
Cons: If your computer or internet service goes down, so does your phone.
Cons: If your computer or internet service goes down, so does your phone.
Lingo
Pros and Cons
Pros: For people that often make calls outside of North America, the best VOIP option is likely Lingo. The is because the popular Chatter Box plan, which is just $21.95 per month, includes unlimited minutes to the U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and Vatican City. Lingo.com has even won awards as a top voip service provider.
Cons: You have to wait a few days for activation and to receive your router. If your computer or internet service goes down, so does your phone.
Cons: You have to wait a few days for activation and to receive your router. If your computer or internet service goes down, so does your phone.
Skype
Pros and Cons
Pros: While the above services can save you a lot of money with discount pricing compared to your regular telephone bill, you can actually get free service. Skype is the leading free calling service, and it plans to stay free forever. It is easy to download and use the Skype software, which allows you to make free calls over the Internet to other people running Skype on their computer.
Cons: The downside with Skype is that you can't use your regular telephone or number, and you can't call landlines or mobiles for free either (although you can for really cheap). It also isn't a full replacement for your regular telephone because you can't make emergency calls.
Cons: The downside with Skype is that you can't use your regular telephone or number, and you can't call landlines or mobiles for free either (although you can for really cheap). It also isn't a full replacement for your regular telephone because you can't make emergency calls.
VOIP Resources
- Voice-Over-Internet Protocol
- Federal Communications Commission
What to look for in VOIP Technology
How To Choose an Internet Phone (VoIP) Provider
Internet phone service - also called VoIP - is a great new alternative for your home phone, but how do you know which service to choose? See examples of what you need to consider when choosing the right Internet phone or VOIP service in this video from Digital Landing.
Runtime: 401
2875 views
2 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
What I Did
After careful consideration
After talking it over with my husband and looking at all of the features and available services, Mark and I chose to go with Phone.com. We have been using their services since March 2008, and have been very happy with them. Occasionally, we suffer a loss of service, but that could be expected with a land line in bad weather, too.
Overall, I would recommend Phone.com to anyone who wants to save money and still talk to their out of state friends and family. I give them two thumbs up!
Overall, I would recommend Phone.com to anyone who wants to save money and still talk to their out of state friends and family. I give them two thumbs up!
VOIP In The News!
- VoIP Taxation ? Change You Can Believe In
- Earlier this year, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing concerning jurisdictional issues related to taxing VoIP services. Witnesses included: John Barnes, the Director of Product Management and Development at Verizon Business; Robert W. Cole, Manager, Tax Accounting atSprint ( News - Alert) Nextel Corporation; Phil Montgomery with the Wisconsin State Assembly; and James R. Eads, Jr., Executive Director at the Federation of Tax Administrators.
by JoDeeVale
I am a licensed massage therapist, entrepreneur, writer and illustrator. I have a challenge in trying to describe my self. So, here is a description... (more) Explore related pages
Internet Phone Service
- All the latest news from the VOIP Internet phone service industry, latest gadget...
DSL & Broadband Rate Quotes Instantly- Let your local high speed internet providers compete for your business. The Real...
VoIP Internet Phone Service
- Internet Voice Calls, also known as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), is a te...
Steelecommerce Telephony & Internet
- Steelecommerce is a collection web pages and blogs that market telecom services...
3 Skypephone - the 3 Skypephone from three mobile phone network - 3Skypephone- UPDATE ABOUT THE 3 SKYPEPHONE - THE 3 SKYPEPHONE HAS BEEN RELEASED!!! BUY IT ONL...
IVR & Speech Applications- Everything related to Interactive Voice Response applications, Speech Recognitio...
